Rondo proves C's more than just Big Three
BOSTON -- The Big Three? Might want to make it the Fantastic Four.
As the Celtics scuffled past the Jazz 100-91 Monday for their 15th straight win, it was unquestionably Rajon Rondo who was the difference -- for good and bad. He spent the first and fourth quarters winning the game for Boston and much of the middle two stanzas giving it to Utah. At times, it seemed he would get the league's first ever quintuple-double -- in points, rebounds, assists, turnovers and missed layups.
In the end, he finished with 25 points, nine boards, eight assists, six turnovers and three steals as the Celtics tied a league record for the best 25-game start at 23-2. With four more victories, they would set a record for the most wins with only two losses to start a season.
And these are related points: Boston's great start is a direct result of Rondo's ascension to stardom, providing another major contributors at both ends and taking some of the strain off Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.
In fact it was Rondo, not any of the Big Three, who was Boston's go-to guy down the stretch Monday. With the Celtics clinging to a four-point lead with 3:22 left, Boston turned to side pick-and-roll plays for Rondo, and he created points four times in five trips -- zooming in to the basket for two layups, drawing a foul on another drive and setting up two free throw by Kendrick Perkins on another.
The clincher came on a spinning reverse layup with 43.6 seconds left with so much English that it left Celtics coach Doc Rivers comparing him to Minnesota Fats.
"[Pierce] told me never to play that man in H-O-R-S-E, and I had to learn the hard way," Garnett said. "He's real good at using the backboard, really good with the English."
This is the good Rondo -- the Rondo who dominated Game 6 of the Finals against the Lakers last season, the one who will be instrumental in Boston's effort to repeat.
Alas, he has a dark side. All the good requires living with the bad, especially as 22-year-old Rondo is still learning the ropes. We saw it in Saturday's 94-82 win over New Orleans, when a strangely passive Rondo sat most of the fourth quarter while Eddie House played, and we saw it Monday night in a plague of turnovers that wasted a 12-point first-quarter lead. His six miscues and multiple misses from short range were the Hyde to his Jekyll -- on occasion, he's as capable of beating the Celtics as he is of beating their opponents.
It's no surprise, then, that in Boston's two losses, Rondo has been the most ineffective Celtic. He had two points on 1-of-4 shooting in a 95-79 loss to Indiana and two points on 1-of-8 shooting in a 94-85 loss to Denver. It bears noting that he had a total of just one turnover in those two games -- he's one of the rare players who seems to be a lot better when he's taking chances and, sometimes, screwing up.
Fortunately for Boston, the good has massively outweighed the bad on most nights. On the season, his PER ranks second on the Celtics and is pushing Garnett's for the top spot; and even with Monday's mistakes, he was good enough to prompt Pierce to endorse him for the All-Star team.
Perhaps that explains why the Celtics seem perfectly happy with the trade-off … just as long as he's attacking.
"Against New Orleans," Rivers said, "he walked the ball up the floor, he played at a medium pace, and that allowed them to stop him. Tonight, we just told him, 'Every single time we get a rebound, we want you at full speed up the floor,' and he did that. And I thought his speed, especially early and then in the third quarter, was the difference."
"Rondo puts pressure on you defensively with his ability to push the ball up the floor," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "They caught us a lot of times napping, and he would push it and get an easy basket."
The attacking mentality applies off the ball, as well. Rivers was pleased that when Utah doubled off of Rondo -- a common tactic for Boston opponents -- he made hard cuts toward the basket instead of hanging out on the weak side. Often, that resulted in pass from Pierce or Garnett to Rondo near the basket and Rondo would then find a teammate for a score or a foul.
About the only negative for the Celtics was a knee injury suffered by Pierce with 31 seconds left. The Boston forward went down when Utah's Mehmet Okur crashed into him under the basket, and he stayed on the floor for several seconds during a timeout.
Eventually, he limped off with the help of two teammates -- no, we didn't see any wheelchairs -- and he said afterward that he could put weight on it and felt as though he'd play Wednesday in Atlanta. In fact, he felt good enough to take pictures in the locker room with Olympian Michael Phelps (who was there with Jared from Subway) after the game. Rivers also said that trainer Eddie Lacerte told him he thought Pierce would be OK but that they would do more tests on Tuesday.
Pierce will be needed for Boston to continue its streak. The Celtics are on a three-game losing streak in Atlanta's Philips Arena -- where they lost Games 3, 4 and 6 in the first round of the 2008 playoffs -- and a Christmas date with the Lakers looms just nine days out. Two nights before that, hosting the 76ers, the Celts might have the opportunity to be the first NBA team to start 27-2.
But they'll need Rondo too to win those games -- the aggressive, attacking Rondo. And if that player shows up every night, it will be time to retire the Big Three moniker in Beantown.
Steve Babineau/NBAE/Getty ImagesRajon Rondo got free for a career-best 25 points, including 12 in the final 5:20, for the Celtics.
John Hollinger writes for ESPN Insider. To e-mail him, click here.
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